Apple Event

This week Apple's Spring event delivered final details for the release of the Apple Watch. Along with the final drop, the company revealed that they'd been working with HBO for an exclusive on web-only streaming content for their Apple TV. The service is called HBO NOW and it requires no cable subscription to get you HBO content. They'd also been working on a new MacBook line. This new MacBook is slim, light, and works with a keyboard that runs edge-to-edge - just like its display glass.

A new, shiny MacBook. Sounds amazing, except it might not be for everyone. There’s a lot going for Apple’s awesome new MacBook; it’s thin, Retina, and that new trackpad is pretty impressive. Still, not everything about the MacBook will keep people flocking to an Apple Store to snatch one up. All that slim metal has to have some compromises, right?! It does, and before you start queueing up for a new computer, take a second to read this article. You’ve got some thinkin’ to do.

With a newly thinned-out body, trackpad, keyboard, and parred-down collection of ports, the New MacBook is truly simplified. This device is not a MacBook Air - and it's certainly not a MacBook Pro. This device sits beside the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro in a lineup that'll go through 2015 and beyond. Will the MacBook replace the MacBook Air eventually? Maybe. For now, it looks like this notebook is going to stand on its own as a rather unique piece of work - a new generation of MacBook hardware, to be sure.

The new MacBook is sexy as can be, but how much are you going to shell out for it? It’s not going to come cheap, unfortunately. It is, however, a totally new addition to the MacBook lineup, so you have increased options. If you really want to grab one, they’ll be shipping April 10. The pricing starts at $1,299, and gets all the way up to $1,599. That’s not cheap, but it is supplemental to the rest of the lineup, so you don’t have to make any tough choices.

After breaking new ground with ResearchKit, Apple has reinvented their existing MacBook platform. “The definition of portability has changed in the last several years, led by iPhone and iPad” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. “We challenged ourselves to reinvent the notebook”. They did, too. A gorgeous new MacBook Air landed today, and it’s — it’s stunning. More or less, it lines up with rumors we’d heard about previously, but in being official, we now have reason to get excited. For the fashionable, it now comes in different colors, too -- silver, space grey, and gold!

Today at Apple’s event, we started off on a strange footing. Rather than leap right into the Apple Watch, CEO Tim Cook lead off with Apple TV. Not only will Apple TV users have access to HBO Now exclusively, Apple is also dropping the price. Rather than $99, Apple TV will cost a mere $69. The price change is in effect immediately, so if you need a new streaming device, “now’s the time”, says Tim Cook. It might not be, though.

This week during an event centered on Apple Watch, Apple also revealed that new content would be coming to Apple TV - one of these bits being HBO NOW. HBO would be bringing content, primarily - "we're offering content from all the leading content providers," said Tim Cook, and that includes ESPN, Showtime, Disney, ABC, PBS, and more, now. Also present at the event was Richard Plepler, CEO of HBO. "This is a transformative moment for HBO," said Plepler, showing Game of Thrones, Band of Brothers, True Detective, and Angry Boys onscreen.

Today’s the day! We’re here in San Francisco, ready to get inside the Yerba Buena Center on this blustery winter morning. What will we find in there? We’re not entirely certain, to be honest. The Apple Watch is all but a foregone conclusion, where Apple is expected to announce more details ahead of the April release timeframe CEO Tim Cook already hinted at. Could we see something else? Multiple other things? We’ll know in a few hours, but we have our suspicions.

Apple will "spring forward" at its event on March 9th, where it will likely launch its first generation of Apple's wearable technology, the Apple Watch. The Apple Watch is expected to hit consumer markets sometime in April. Over the course of 2015 it's predicted to sell 19 million units. 10 million of its sales are predicted to come directly from the holiday season. As of now, we aren't the only ones speculating. Professional market analysts have been reporting their bullish views on Apple's possible success in the market place.

Apple’s latest event is just days away. At this soiree, we’re expecting the Apple Watch to be the star of the show, which was heavily hinted at with Apple’ invitation to the event, which made a tongue-in-cheek reference to setting the time correctly. Not content to simply house the event at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, Apple is also building an outside area right next to the events hall. We’re in San Francisco for GDC, so we took a peek at what Apple has going on.